Conventionally, a seat back of a known vehicle seat can be switched between a rearwardly tilted state, a forwardly tilted state, and a greatly tilted state (See Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-501852). In a seat of this type, by placing it in the forwardly tilted state, it becomes easier for the occupant to get on a seat in the rear row (a walk-in state), and, by placing it in the greatly tilted state, the luggage space is enlarged (a down state).
In the conventional vehicle seat, when placing the seat back in the forwardly tilted state, a forward tilting operation lever provided on a side surface of the seat cushion is operated. As a result, as shown in FIG. 9, a stopper operation lever 33 is tilted, and causes a stopper 32 to be tilted clockwise. And, in synchronization with the tilting of the stopper operation lever 33, a reclining mechanism 12 is placed in a free state. When, in this state, a seat back 11 is tilted forwards, a stopper claw 11b provided on the seat back 11 pushes the stopper 32, and the stopper 32 abuts a stopper receiving portion 36 fixed to the seat back 11 side. As a result, the seat back 11 is prevented from being tilted further forwards beyond the forwardly tilted position due to the stopper 32. However, when the operation of the operation lever is canceled before the seat back 11 has attained the forwardly tilted state, the stopper operation lever 33 and the stopper 32 are restored to their former positions, with the result that the stopper 32 ceases to function. Thus, the seat back 11 is not stopped at the forwardly tilted state but is allowed to be tilted down to the greatly tilted state.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a vehicle seat with a satisfactory operability in which the seat back can be reliably placed in the forwardly tilted state or the greatly tilted state.